Archive for June, 2010

Do your Burning Man homework and prepare for the party with IndieFlix

Friday, June 25th, 2010

The road to Burning Man is carved from desert winds and the hundreds of footpaths of those who travel from all over the world to celebrate new beginnings in the middle of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. If this is your first year, don’t forget the essentials like sunscreen and camelbacks. But going beyond the survival essentials, do your homework and learn more about what makes this festival unlike any other. Because any Burner will tell you, every mind-bending experience is made all the better when you know the greater “why.”
Get your Burning Man fix with our award-winning documentaries. See the festival through the eyes of the artists, and be prepared to be amazed.

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Firefall: Road to Burning Man

Directed by Alessandro Gentile
Running Time: 88 minutes

Discover what it takes to create an art installation for the biggest art festival in the world.

In a six month journey that brings to life a fire fountain sculpture, the community acclaimed, “Firefall: Road to Burning Man” is a feature length documentary chronicling the creation of a mesmerizing work of art from its conception to its unveiling.

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Burning Man – The Burning Sensation

Directed by Alex Nohe
Running Time: 80 Minutes

Each summer, some 20,000+ souls make a pilgrimage to the Black Rock Desert to practice radical self-expression and self-reliance in a temporary, commerce-free community.

The world’s largest venue for public art, Burning Man has elements of a Vegas acid trip, a nudist colony, a pyrotechnic convention, the Rose Bowl parade, a rave, the Museum of Modern Art, and a Mad Max movie dispersed over the 107 degree desert – at the end of which a 50-foot high, neon-lit, wooden effigy is burned, igniting a wild, tribal, all-night celebration. The film captures intense footage of several art events as well as interviews with Burning Man organizers Larry Harvey (also co-founder), Crimson Rose and Will Roger who explain how, what started in 1986 as an impromptu Summer Solstice celebration, put on by a few friends at a beach in San Francisco, has turned into a full-blown exercise in city planning and management with a hefty price-tag. This temporary city is the 6th largest in Nevada.

Some of the featured art events include “Burial In Space” by Woodpussy (a group of musicians and pyro-technicians who blast their deceased founder into space in a rocket of their own creation); “Nebulous Entity” and “Futura Deluxe” (two large, roving installation pieces engineered using mathematics derived from fields of neural networks, ecological systems and fractals); and a performance artist Dea Million who stages her “wedding” to America.

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Burning Man Festival

Directed by Joe Winston
Running Time: 40 minutes

This film is the first of two documentaries by Joe Winston on the Burning Man Festival, America’s largest countercultural event.

For over ten years, this unique gathering has been held in a barren spot of the Nevada Desert. Attracting over 30,000 participants, the burning of the Man culminates a five-day carnival of artistic creativity and deviance from societal norms.

Celebrants dress in costumes, strut naked, dance in the nude, create religions, race in rocket-powered cars, shoot automatic weapons, or do whatever it is they don’t get enough of at home. The festival founder refers to this semi-structured anarchy as “a laboratory for reinventing civilization.” Experience it on video – it’s cooler and less dusty than actually going out to the desert.

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LAFF Marketing and DIY conference welcomes IndieFlix as featured guest

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

9117The LA Film Festival is hosting a symposium on new media marketing and DIY film distribution symposium called “Seize The Power: A  Marketing and (DIY)stribution Symposium” kicking off this Saturday, June 19 and again on Sunday, June 20th at the GRAMMY Museum at LA LIVE.

IndieFlix CEO Scilla Andreen will join a panel of key players in the new film distribution model, including IndieFlix friends Lance Weiler (The Workbook Project); Jon Reiss (Think Outside the Box(Office), ‘Bomb It’); Zak Forsman (Cinefist) and Ted Hope (This is That Corporation) . They’ll describe what’s new, what’s changed and what independent filmmakers should anticipate in the years to come.

Topics to be addressed include:

*  How to master the social media universe to effect change and connect with your audience
* How transmedia content can enrich your stories and expand your creative options
* How to create your brand as an artist
* Crowd sourcing and crowd funding: How to let others get a sense of “ownership” through their involvement and investment in your work
* Different platforms that enable you to effectively market and distribute your films.

The symposium on Saturday, June 19th is 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, June 20th, it goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $75 for FIND members and $85 for the general public.

  • How to master the social media universe to effect change and connect with your audience
  • How transmedia content can enrich your stories and expand your creative options
  • How to create your brand as an artist
  • Crowd sourcing and crowd funding: How to let others get a sense of “ownership” through their involvement and investment in your work
  • Different platforms that enable you to effectively market and distribute your films

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IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast with “Ramly at War Begins” Filmmaker Juliane Block Hosted By Lois Fein

Monday, June 14th, 2010

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IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast
“Here’s looking at you – the independent filmmaker”

Every Tuesday. A conversation with IndieFlix independent filmmakers –
producers, writers, actors, directors.

  • Listen NOW by clicking PLAY below

 IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast with Juliane Block Hosted By Lois Fein [29:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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6/15/10 Podcast:

The Juliane Block Interview

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A conversation with independent filmmaker
Juliane Block -- writer,  director and producer of
Ramly at War Begins

Ramly at War Begins -- Trailer

(6/15/10)      (Total time  29:34)

What’s inside The Juliane Block Interview?

  • Listen to the Movie: Ramly at War Begins  (1:23)
  • What does Juliane Block see outside her window in Jakarta, Indonesia?  (2:20)
  • What’s new and fresh about Ramly at War Begins?  (4:18)
  • Juliane Block’s collaboration with Low Angle Productions  (5:18)
  • What are the challenges to filming martial arts scenes?  (7:16)
  • “It started off with the question: ‘What do I have?’”  (8:47)
  • Why DVD piracy makes sense for the buyer in Asia  (10:01)
  • “Copyright is pretty much non-existent.”  (11:02)
  • How different cultures and languages have informed Juliane Block’s filmmaking  (11:49)
  • “What didn’t I do yet?”  (13:11)
  • “In Asia, I’m definitely different.”  (14:36)
  • Working with actors from different cultures  (15:05)
  • “I like action and gangster movies, and Hong Kong cinema; they have
    a tension that often lacks in the western cinema and Hollywood movies.”  (17:36)
  • “My favorite movies now are Korean movies.”  (18:41)
  • “Other parts of the world also tell really good stories,
    which I think widens your horizons…”  (19:33)
  • How Juliane Block is received as a woman filmmaker in Asia  (20:15)
  • On fun, freedom, and collaboration:
    the advantages of a low-budget film  (21:23)
  • Do’s and don’ts for indie filmmakers  (23:41)
  • “Go out there, and you will find people everywhere.”  (23:55)
  • Advice on innovative marketing and distribution  (26:01)
  • “Don’t be afraid of people stealing your movie and pirating it.
    If you keep your movie in the closet because you are afraid
    of someone stealing it, that is wrong.  Just put it out there.”  (27:38)


STILL FROM RAMLY AT WAR BEGINS
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Play “IndieFlix Podcast Puzzle” (6/15/10):


Meet Indieflix Podcast Host: Lois Fein

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Lois Fein is IndieFlix Filmmaker Interviewer,
Podcaster, and Host for IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast.
Lois is a recording artist, songwriter, and performer.
Her songs “It Ain’t Easy” and “Chasing the Moon”
are featured on IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast.
Listen to more of her music from her debut CD
Step Into the Water at: www.LoisFein.com

_________________________________________________________

Podcast Music Credits: “As Time Goes By” (Herman Hupfield);
“It Ain’t Easy” and “Chasing the Moon” (Lois Fein)

_________________________________________________________

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Today’s edition of IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast was recorded with
audio-technica’s AT2020 USB Cardoid Condenser Microphone,
Skype™ and CallBurner; and edited and mastered with
Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH™’s WaveLab Studio 6.

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_________________________________________________________

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This edition of IndieFlix Podcast Puzzle and
IndieFlix Name That Voice is sponsored by IndieFlix -
“Connecting people through movies.”

__________________________________________________________

4/27/09 PODCAST ANSWER:

THE ANSWER to IndieFlix Podcast Puzzle (4/27/10) is
“All of the above (and more)”

__________________________________________________________

6/15/10 Edition -- IndieFlix Play It Again Podcast

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IndieFlix docs are hot on Hulu!

Monday, June 14th, 2010

IndieFlix documentaries are climbing the Hulu charts! If you haven’t checked out these award-winning documentaries, now is the time. You can watch them for free on Hulu, or you can purchase DVD or rental streams here at IndieFlix.

Whatever way you swing, just remember that your click and purchase supports IndieFlix filmmakers in a big way.

Here are a list of the most popular IndieFlix documentaries, now available on Hulu.

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The Green Rush
Directed by Jason S. Edwards
55 minutes

Watch for free on Hulu
Purchase DVD

Award winning documentary following several marijuana farmers over an entire outdoor grow season.
This documentary chronicles the trials and tribulations of a unique group of marijuana farmers in Northern California.
Identified only by the color of the bandannas they wear to conceal their faces, Mr. Red, Mr. Blue, Mr. Yellow, and Mrs. Pink represent a growing segment of hardworking and passionate Californians. They are quasi-outlaws, plowing a delicate field between the lines of the law and the American tradition of sustenance. The backwoods setting narrows a distinct and sharp focus on the battle between the broad and mighty federal authorities and the sympathetic state enforcers, whose mandates are unfairly inverse.
Amongst the trees, mountains and untouched splendor of Northern California’s richest soil, these farmers wage a battle crafting the best yield of an unforgiving crop against the looming threat of DEA fly-bys,family and personal hardship, thieves, and the ultimate risk…prison time.
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Pirate Radio USA
Directed by Jeff Pearson
83 minutes

Watch free on Hulu
Purchase DVD

DJs Him and Her, from their live Pirate Radio USA Studio, take you on a rock-n-roll journey inside rogue radio stations across the country to see why Americans defy Federal Law to free the radio airwaves. Learn about the underground world of unlicensed radio in the USA, where people play what they want and say what they want—unless the FCC catches them. On the way, see the rise of big media, the growth of citizen media to counter it, and witness their showdown over truth during the 1999 World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle.

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This is the Life
Directed by Ava DuVernay
97 minutes

Watch free on Hulu

Purchase DVD
Rent 30 Day Stream

The award-winning documentary chronicles the legendary Good Life emcees, the alternative music movement they developed and their worldwide influence on the artform. They were a little known group of 50+ teenagers from South Central LA who collectively rejected gang rap to explore the possibilities of estoeric hip hop.
The film features new interviews and rare performance footage by these teens, who went on to become some of the biggest names in alternative rap today: Jurassic 5, Cut Chemist, Chali 2na, Pigeon John, Abstract Rude, CVE, Ellay Khule, 2Mex, Freestyle Fellowship, Medusa and many more.
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Bush’s Brain
Directed by Michael Paradies Shoob and Joseph Mealey
78 minutes
Watch free on Hulu
Purchase DVD
Rent 30 day stream

The explosive documentary suggests that George W. Bush would never have been President without Karl Rove, the President’s closest advisor. Rove is the man known as “Bush’s Brain”, the most powerful political figure America has never heard of, the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain and virtual “co-president” of the United States.
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Jack Be Nimble
Directed by Andrew Kazlauskas & John Adams
74 minutes

Watch free on Hulu
Purchase DVD
Rent 30 day stream

A portrait of a subculture held together by the passion of the participants.

In the summer of 1995, aggressive inline skating was featured as one of the premier events in ESPN’s newly created X-Games. By 2004 it had been completely eliminated from the event leaving the sport practically unseen by mainstream culture. Jack Be Nimble follows the recently established Roll Series, an international competition circuit consisting of more than 50 inline street skating events across North America. Despite a lack of sponsorship to help fund their journey, a small group of young men embark 10,000 miles across the continent with little more than passion to help fuel their way. As they push forward however, they discover that the activity once representing rebellion, innocence and individuality has brought them to a crossroads between growing up and following their dreams.

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Blood Equity
Directed by Michael Felix
63 minutes

Watch free on Hulu
Purchase DVD
Rent 30 day stream

The Dark Side of America’s Biggest Blood Sport

Roman Phifer –three time Super Bowl Champion and Assistant Coach for the Denver Broncos – produced this hard hitting film that focuses on the issues facing former NFL Players following their retirement, including their ironic struggle against the NFL Player’s Union and the Owners they made rich.
The film features Intense, passionate interviews with such notables as Mike Ditka (Player Super Bowl V, VI; Coach Super Bowl XX), Harry Carson (Super Bowl XXI), Willie Wood (Super Bowl XXIV), Cyril Smith, Donnie Green, Tony Dorsett (Super Bowl XXXVII), Darryl “Moose” Johnston (Super Bowl XXX), give the inside story on what its like to live after the NFL.

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Show your PRIDE and support LGBTQ films at IndieFlix!

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

This month, support queer film by purchasing them at IndieFlix. In case you’ve forgotten, 70% of all net profits earned on our site go directly back to the ones who made it all happen – our filmmakers.

We’re going to feature a favorite LGBTQ film every day during Pride on our Twitter and Facebook, so make sure to check that out too.

Outcast Films

We’ve already talked about a couple Outcast Film favorites in an earlier blog post, but here are a few more:

theoddsofrecoveryThe Odds of Recovery
Directed by Su Friedrich
65 Minutes
Documentary

This film addresses a perennial human problem: the desire to avoid conflict and deny the need for radical change.

After a 20-year period of multiple illnesses and injuries, Friedrich turns the camera on herself to analyze her chances for a happier, healthier life. In the process, she captures the frustration, tedium and petty annoyances of a revolving-door relationship with the medical establishment, while portraying the complicated web of emotions that accompany any medical problem.

womeninloveWomen in Love
Directed by Karen Everett
Running Time: 59 minutes
Documentary

Award winning filmmaker Karen Everett (I Shall Not Be Removed, The Life of Marlon Riggs; My Femme Divine), gives us a no-holds-barred look at her sexually charged love life by revealing every juicy detail.

While examining the human ability to redefine ourselves and reshape what we think “love” means, Everett masterfully weaves images of lesbians making their way through present-day sex clubs and attending masturbation seminars. Drawing on her own experience and that of her circle of lesbian, bisexual and polyamorous friends and lovers, Everett blends her own personal trials with intimate, raw and emotional moments of sexual pleasure and heart-wrenching loneliness.

sinkSink or Swim
Directed by Su Friedrich
48 minutes
Art Film

An unflinching account of the highly charged relationship between a daughter and her father.
Through a series of 26 short stories, a young girl chronicles the childhood events that shaped her ideas about fatherhood, family relations, work and play. As the stories unfold, a dual portrait emerges: that of a father who cared more for his career than for his family, and of a daughter who was deeply affected by his behavior. Working in counterpoint to the forceful text are sensual black and white images that depict both the extraordinary and ordinary events of daily life. This formally complex and emotionally intense film is fraught with tension, ambivalence and love.

(more…)

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Get ready for the World Cup with award-winning documentaries

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

The world’s eyes are on South Africa for this year’s World Cup.

This year’s event is unprecedented in sensory overload – the colors, the culture, and the fans – but it’s all just the tip of the iceberg.

If you’re interested in learning more about soccer culture and South Africa, IndieFlix has the documentaries for you. Then, get over to the pub with your facepaint on with a head filled with facts sure to impress your drinking buddies.

I Speak Soccer

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Directed by Terry Kegel

Watch for free on Hulu

Purchase DVD

Purchase 30 Day Stream

I Speak Soccer takes you on an around-the-world tour of language, culture and play through the lens of pickup soccer.

American filmmaker Terry Kegel takes you on a world-wide tour of pickup soccer, shot over four years on six continents! Unlike professional or amateur league games, pickup is an unofficial, public and self-defined version of the sport. Without a referee to enforce internationally standardized rules, players create their own structure and style, which is influenced by their cultural and physical environment. The power of this informal play is both an honest reflection of our diversity and an inspiring force in community building.

Masizakhe: Building Each Other

25309Directed by Scott and Angela Macklin

Purchase DVD

Rent 30 Day Stream

This documentary follows a group of dynamic young artists from the Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, who are dedicated to the empowerment of their community through cultural activism.

1994 saw political liberation for South Africa, but now there is a need for cultural liberation. The role of today’s cultural activists is to liberate the minds of a people who have been oppressed for centuries under colonialism and its most recent form of apartheid. Author and poet Sindiwe Magona says that the African people “have been left with no tongue of their own… no tongue to call their own.” This documentary follows everyday heroes who are reclaiming their history and actively participating in building a future of inclusion. Their tools are spoken word, music, poetry, Hip-Hop culture, and the arts.

The documentary includes interviews with teachers and principals who were political activists in the 1980s and early 1990s reveal the similarities between the political struggle of the apartheid years and the cultural struggle of today. Some of these teachers are working with cultural activist groups by bringing them into the classroom to help educate people about themselves.

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‘Perfect 10′ world premiere tonight at SIFF

Monday, June 7th, 2010

30954If you’re tired of watching the Sex and The City 2 girls run around in Manolos and complain about their perfect lives, you should go see Perfect 10 tonight at SIFF Cinema to get that girl comedy fix.

It’s a SIFF Official Selection and making it’s world debut tonight at 9 p.m. It’s a semi-autobiographical tale, is a film about identity, self-respect and the beauty of dysfunctional friendship.

Perfect 10 tells the story of Mara, a woman hovering between plus-sized and regular. From the outside, she’s the whole package – perfect marriage and a successful business, and she’s feeling more confident after losing a ton of weight. But she can’t shake the feeling that something is missing…

When a former classmate cajoles her into attending their high school 10 year-reunion, Mara starts to remember her old crush, Danny. What will he think when he sees her now? Mara decides she has to find out, and drags her best friend Libby along for the ride. They road trip to Eastern Washington, to the town where they spent their formative years – the place that made their lives living nightmares.

At first, things seem fine, and Mara and Libby get some much needed therapeutic retribution against those who wronged them so many years ago.

But then, people from Libby’s sordid past creep back into her life, and Danny finally arrives. And he’s come back for Mara.

But is Danny what Mara really needs?

Show starts at 9:15 p.m. tonight at SIFF Cinema! Tickets are $11 general, $9 for SIFF members. Visit the SIFF site for more information.


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SIFF FutureWave Winner Announced!

Monday, June 7th, 2010

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The SIFF FutureWave online audience award winner is “Shawn Harris, Personal Trainer.”

Congratulations to young directors Tyler Silver and Simon Turkel for their outstanding work.

We had a great time sponsoring the SIFF online festival this year and are overwhelmed by the amount of support for the short films. All FutureWave films are directed by youth 18 and under. Each one was unique and thought-provoking.

Saturday’s FutureWave screening at the Egyptian was so much fun – the SuperFly and FutureWave shorts screened to thunderous applause. Everyone was so supportive, it was a great showing for students and film lovers of all ages. Scilla announced the FutureWave Online Audience Award winner, and gave second place winner Megan Baxter, with “I Just Am Who I Am,” special recognition.

Thanks for voting!

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SIFF Spotlight: Alisha

Friday, June 4th, 2010

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Every day for 14 days, IndieFlix will feature a blog post on each film in this year’s Seattle International Film Festival FutureWave Shorts online competition, presented by IndieFlix. Watch and vote for this and the other 13 films now at IndieFlix.com.

Alisha

The story of Alisha, an overweight, teenage girl struggling to deal with her body image issues while maintaining one of the few ‘relationships’ that exist in her life, her father. What truly limits her is her own self perception and self-loathing.

Daniel Citron is a fifteen year old student filmmaker. Over the summer, he attended the New York Film Academy in LA, California and made this film, Alisha.

At NYFA, Daniel was in the advanced filmmaking class with just 4 other students. He wrote, directed and edited the film. This is the second year Daniel has attended this program and the previous year, wrote and directed the short film “Out of the Water.” Daniel has been making shorts since age 8, with the films growing progressively more complex as his age increases. He has explored many genres of film including comedy, drama, documentary and music video. When Daniel was 12, he created a short documentary titled “Cheers” with the subject matter of teenage drinking and driving. Daniel recieved multiple awards for this film and to this day, “Cheers” is shown in schools as an educational film as part of the drug and alcohol program.

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SIFF Spotlight: At The Core

Friday, June 4th, 2010

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Every day for 14 days, IndieFlix will feature a blog post on each film in this year’s Seattle International Film Festival FutureWave Shorts online competition, presented by IndieFlix. Watch and vote for this and the other 13 films now at IndieFlix.com.

At The Core

Seattle students explain their core values in skateboarding and snowboarding that apply to the rest of life.

Sponsored by the Adobe Youth Voices project.

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SIFF Spotlight: Checkpoint of Humanity

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

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Checkpoint of Humanity

An Israeli and a Palestinian meet at a checkpoint. Flashbacks reveal the tragic circumstances in which they had met before and which now threaten both of their lives. Something changes for both of them when they are able to see the humanity in each other.

The film was produced by Peace it Together Society, which works to empower youth to promote peace through dialogue, filmmaking, and multimedia.

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The Green Rush sparks debate on Hulu

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

30372Marijuana farming documentary The Green Rush is one of the top docs on Hulu, and viewers are getting fired up about legalization, cash cow profits and illegal farming. So far, users have left 6 pages of comments, and it’s budding daily!

One user commented: “One of the best documentaries I’ve seen on the subject. An interesting look from a unique perspective. An excellent documentary on a very misunderstood subject.”

Another said: “In California it is legal to grow tomatoes, pot, and if the trend continues the black market of violence and corruption would stop. It is a simple economics lesson. Look up microeconomics and black market effects on price. Sorry to all who disagree, but it’s just simple economic proven principles. Grow your brains out California, but make sure to pay taxes and do it legally according the the state you live in.”

What do you think? Watch the documentary for free on Hulu and weigh in!

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SIFF Spotlight: HOO

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

31073Every day for 14 days, IndieFlix will feature a blog post on each film in this year’s Seattle International Film Festival FutureWave Shorts online competition, presented by IndieFlix. Watch and vote for this and the other 13 films now at IndieFlix.com.

HOO

Boxes are lit and filmed, 16 mm filmstrips were scratched and digitized.  These visual elements were set to a soundscape that was composed first out of distorted everyday sounds.

Director  Jake Strickland is a 16 year old junior at Seattle Academy High School.

“As I worked, I slowly but surely destroyed every aspect of my originally clear vision, from the recording of the soundtrack to the editing of the footage.  Since the project was mine alone I was free to do whatever I liked, fearlessly integrating new ideas and eliminating the old,” said Strickland. “Whether or not these decisions were for the best, the final product is one of the few things that I’ve created that I don’t regard with utmost scorn, so I suppose that I can’t complain. Plus, it’s colorful! Everyone loves colorful things!”

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SIFF Spotlight: I Just Am Who I Am

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

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Every day for 14 days, IndieFlix will feature a blog post on each film in this year’s Seattle International Film Festival FutureWave Shorts online competition, presented by IndieFlix. Watch and vote for this and the other 13 films now at IndieFlix.com.

I Just Am Who I Am

Beth is a teacher, mother, and wife who lives a life a lot like yours but… she can’t hear. Though Beth has the same capabilities as any other person, other people often perceive her as disabled.

Director Megan Baxter has been interested in making movies even before she started high school.

“I’ve always loved sign language and in making this video, I loved having the opportunity to work with my sign language teacher to tell a part of her story,” said Megan. “The most challenging part of making this short documentary was trying to remember enough sign language to be able to ask the right questions and direct Beth throughout the video. We had to work together to go slowly and do our best to communicate with each other.”

In the last 2 years, her has really grown into a career – she’ll be attending Chapman University and majoring in Television and Broadcast Journalism in the fall.

“I made this movie because I realized that we often make judgments about a person, before we know them,” said Megan. “I wanted to show that people we may have judged… are a lot more similar to us than we originally thought. Through the process of making this video, I’ve learned more about the transformation and evolution of the original idea as it become something different.”

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